So nice to have Hmong food options in west metro! Since I've found out about this place through DoorDash, I haven't had to make the drive to St. Paul for Hmong food. The prices are reasonable and the portions for the rice + protein combos are generous. And they actually have Hmong pepper which is a must! Sometimes when I order the pork belly- the skin isn't crispy like how I like it but that's ok with me too as it doesn't happen all the time. The staff/wait can be a little slow. read more

The sweet pork was really tasty and had good flavor. The fat on meat was very soft and easy to consume. Although I'd prefer to have a variety of meat mixed in, I still had a very pleasant experience with this dish. The Kapoon broth was thick, rich and savory. Chicken wings well seasoned and the pepper had a nice kick behind it. Steam roll was nicely cooked but the meat ratio was a bit short. It came with a sweet sauce which was interesting as I'm more accustomed to a spicy sauce with this appetizer. Tri color was a nice touch to conclude this meal. read more

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This is a hidden little place in the suburbs. I stopped by here for a quick lunch. Wanted to try it out. And I am sucker for pho so ordered a pho and a red curry for takeout. The place is small but clean in a little strip mall type of setup so and might be a little hard to find for some. The pho was not bad. The broth could be more flavored overall not a bad bowl. It was a satisfying meal. There was a good amount of beef and noodles. It definitely filled me up and was a decent meal. The Togo order not so much. The curry wasn't very flavorful and the Thai ice tea was also mediocre. So overall fifty percent of the meal was decent. I wouldn't go out of my way to go here. There are so many other really good options in town. The service was fine. And the staff was friendly. read more

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My cousin told me about this restaurant and I was craving pork belly laab. I used to work down the street and would drive to pick up lunch at this location weekly, since the new owners took over, I was determined to try the food. I ordered an extra large order of pork belly laab. They have ready to go food already cooked and prepped. Otherwise dine in option is available. Dining area is nice and clean. The owner was very nice and food came out really quick. read more

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- Spiciness - Portion size - Balanced flavors - Meat ratio First day back to Lucky Pearl Cafe under new ownership. I got the Laab Xieng Khuang and a side of small sticky rice. Cashier was super nice. Cashier asked if I wanted spicy and bitter or spicy and sour. I requested spicy and sour. I probably should have gotten less spicy because this was spicy! Just look at the pic for reference of how much peppers were added. I loved the balance of flavors. There was plenty of meat, and the portion size for the price was really good. I also like the portion of tripe and veggies to meat ratio. It felt very well balanced. I really like how much cucumbers and lettuce they included. There was plenty more laab under all that lettuce too. The sticky rice was perfect! It wasn't too soft or too hard. read more

Lucky Pearl Cafe - Laab Xieng Khuang Spicy and Sour - Cafes Near Me - Minneapolis, Minnesota

This hidden gem off of Bass Lake rd. Has got fantastic food! Delicious, Delicious, Delicious! The Pork Belly w/Purple sticky rice is excellent. The staff is super friendly and the restaurant is nice and clean! I have tried many differdishes, and I love them all! read more

When I heard Lucky Pearl Cafe, a Hmong restaurant, was opening in my neighborhood, you bet I was happy. Today (12/15/2022) was their grand opening. My girlfriend and I went over right after work. It's more self-serve. You order your food first at the cashier and sit yourself. If you order a bottled or canned drink, you can grab it from the fridge. After ordering, they will bring out your food. We got their: Beef Pho Combo, Khao Poon with Coconut, Papaya Salad (medium spicy, I believe), Hmong Sausage with Sticky Rice, and a Tri-Color. 1) The Beef Pho Combo comes with your usual beef meats (meatballs, slices of beef, and tripe). You can add shrimp for an additional cost. Their pho taste like your usual Hmong pho. Not bad. But the broth is not quite hitting the spot either. I hope they are still working on perfecting the broth, because I would also love to make this my main pho spot. 2) My girlfriend got their Khao Poon with Coconut (a curry noodle soup). They have another option without Coconut. Coconut milk makes the broth more thick and creamy, and that's what it was: a beautiful, thick, and creamy broth. This Khao Poon was amazing. I'm going to say it, this is one of the better Khao Poon in the Twin Cities. 3) You order sticky rice on its own (small or large), we got the large. Then we ordered 4 Hmong Sausage ($3.50 each I believe). The Hmong Sausage comes with Hmong pepper. Yep, a classic dish and always good. If you have never had Hmong food, this is in my opinion the go-to. Dip your protein and sticky rice in the pepper. Hmong sausage is savory and aromatic. 4) The papaya salad was delicious. Sweet, umami, tangy, and salty. Crunchy and refreshing. Yep, I'm always going to order this when I come by. 5) The Tri-Color was delicious. There's not much to say about it. If you've never had it, it's a sweet and refreshing beverage that has coconut milk and small tapioca pearls. This spot is it for Hmong food in the area. And since I live nearby, I'm definitely going to be a regular here. I know it's the grand opening, so not everything will be perfect. I'm looking forward to more dining here. read more

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Dang i forgot to take photos because i did take out LOL but honest review, i don't see too much of the hype of the papaya salad. it taste like any other, i mean the flavors are there and spice, but i wouldn't say it's my favorite. the khaopoon though... that was super good. it has the right amount of balance of curry and coconut, and it's not over ally heavy. great amount of chicken provided, personally not enough bamboo. it is a tad bit more fishy due to fish sauce the more you eat it, but i'm okay to tolerate it. khaopoon 4/5 papaya 2/5, will be coming back to try the other items! read more

Lucky Pearl Cafe - the front of the restaurant - Cafes Near Me - Minneapolis, Minnesota

Amazing food. I always buy the pork belly and it's amazing. The shrimps are great too. It's not in a busy area and it's close to home so it's my go to spot. The customer service is great. I pho is okay and it could be improved in my opinion, but maybe other customers love it so I am not complaining. They have many options on the menu I do love. read more

HIDDEN GEM. This is one of those rare finds that absolutely blows you away. This is not a restaurant but a deli. You order your food at the counter sit down and they bring it to you. MUST TRY: Pork belly Laab. I wake up and think about this. Pork belly skin on and it's extremely crispy with the tender juicy meat of the under belly. Paired with a spicy, herbal aromatic seasoning, with fresh herbs this with a side of sticky rice was the best Laab I've ever had in MN. If you're adventurous, love powerful flavors and spice this is perfect. This dish comes in beautiful layers of crunch, fatty, juice, spicy and fresh all at once. Noticeable dishes I didn't take pictures were the pork belly it self on it's own. Amazing. The kapoon noodle soup is a must try. This is for the daring, open and adventurous foodie who loves the hole in the walls and appreciates love cooked in the meal. Will be back soon. Cheers! read more

Lucky Pearl Cafe - Pork Belly Laab - Cafes Near Me - Minneapolis, Minnesota

I've been to this location two times. It's like deli style where you walk in and order. Then sit down and they will bring you the food. First encounter I ordered pho, pork belly with Chinese broccoli, papaya salad,and Tricolor. The tricolor was good. The pork belly stir fry was good. The pork belly isn't your typical Hmong or Thai pork belly where it's crispy. It's more of that Chinese pork belly. Where the skin is crispy but the meat is very soft. My only con about this was they chopped the pieces of pork belly thin. So since the skin is crispy and the meat was soft. The meat fell apart where there was tiny pieces of meat only. The pho was okay, there was a few piece of beef that was really tough. The meatballs are sliced very thin so the meatball can be a tiny end piece. The papaya salad is more the Laotian style. If you want Thai style they won't be able to make it for you. Because they already have all their sauces mixed together. Second encounter we got kao poon, pho, and egg rolls. We really wanted the pork belly. But they said it was going to be a 30 min wait. So that's why we got soups and egg rolls instead. Kao poon was really flavorful and creamy. They do already have the garnish on the soup already. Tips: They don't serve water like restaurants so you will need to purchase bottled water or drinks. Think of it as a Hmong village stall. (So don't freak out if they bring you a plate of food on plastic plate. Be open minded.) They also have a small menu. Pros: Kao poon is really good, staff is very nice, and place is clean. Cons: Sometimes they run out of food items or don't have it available. Will I go back? Probably, I think they're still learning and trying to figure things out since they haven't been open long. My only tip for them would be to have consistency on the portion size and equal amount of meat or veggies for pho and kao poon. The table next to us had a lot of garnishes on their kao poon, while ours had a little bit only. And probably have the meat on top of the bowl instead of the bottom for presentation for pho. read more

Got to be my to go spot whenever I visit Minnesota now. Food was phenomenal, flavorful, and cooked just right. Get their crispy Pork belly and you will not be disappointed. Their Service is quick and very perfect. The atmosphere of this place is serene and kind. Will be back again! "Hol10/10 read more

Lucky Pearl Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Minneapolis, Minnesota

This is a really great hmong cafe! I believe its like a hybrid style restaurant, where they had some foods in hot pans and they also had other foods in the kitchen. They have a little section where you can buy drinks (water, coconut juice, some sweet teas, etc). The food reminds me of home, hmong cooking and its amazing! I had the pork belly larb (highly recommended) such great flavors and spicy! The chicken wings were delicious, and the sweet pork with egg was amazing! It's really a masterpiece of what sweet pork should taste like. Service was great, and it's a nice little cafe to come relax and enjoy the food. read more

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We came on a day that was very busy and they were one staff short. They are very new and prob still figuring out flow. Slower in delivery order but not too bad. Food overall all very similar to Hmong Village. We had big group so we ordered almost everything. Pork belly laab was yummy! A little disappointed in the papaya salad. Maybe they accidentally thought the salt is sugar that day? read more

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My family lives nearby and we were so excited to see a new place pop up with pho especially during the winter. It's the first week it's opened so selection was low and we're really hoping to see them add more in the future. Got the pork belly, chicken, fish, and tri color drink. All was delicious. Can't wait to go back and see the place grow/flourish. Forgot to take pictures because we were to excited to dig in... next time! read more

The pork belly was okay, overhyped. Papaya was a no. No flavor whatsoever. Hmong sausage was typical, but for that price, it is a no. Their pepper was a no as well. read more

I miss the old owner of Lucky Pearl Cafe. Their food was FIRE! I recently stopped by to taste the "new owners" food and I bought some pork belly laab and bubble tea. I was very disappointed with the pork belly laab. It lacked flavor and seasoning. The warmth of the food was a bit on the colder side. There were barely any onions and waaay too much mints. The chopped meat pieces were cut overly large which I didn't like. My partner and I ended up getting diarrhea that night into the morning. I know it's the food from Lucky Pearl Cafe because I have not eaten anything that whole day and afterwards. The bubble tea I got tasted very coconut-y and did not taste like the flavor I ordered (strawberry). It didn't even taste like an artificial strawberry flavor either. I was disappointed in it. But the pork belly laab was the most disappointing dish. :/ Idk about the other dishes they have but I don't plan to stop by here in the near future. Customer services was good, average like any other places. read more

The pho was soooooo good! Wonderful customer service and cute little place. Definitely my new go-to for pho!

Order food from deli and it took 20 minutes. Just egg roll chicken wing and rice. It was all on display in front me. Should not be taking that long I'm sorry. read more

I ordered raw laab..and got half cook beef..and who tf put beansprout in their raw laab...